Understanding Without Words
by raineynight
Summary: Set in dreadelion's That one spn highschool AU; Dean/Gabriel Sam/Gabriel Castiel/Dean (No cheating, everyone knew what was going on!) "When Dean needs comfort, he goes to the one person that everyone outside of their little group would least expect; not his brother, not his boyfriend, but Gabriel, the obnoxious twit. Somehow, it works for the two of them." M to be careful


A/N: This is based on dreadelion's "That one spn highschool AU" over on Tumblr. I wrote this on a whim a few months ago after she mentioned in one of her posts that she thought Dean and Gabriel would make a good pair (and before I get flames for using someone else's 'verse, she's given universal permission to write stories in her 'verse, but she likes to see them after they're posted). :) So yeah, hope I didn't screw anything up too bad! Lemme know what you think, guys!

When Dean has had a really rough day, he doesn't go to Sammy, like everyone would expect.  
He doesn't go to Cas, his boyfriend, who would wanna khow when Dean's having a hard time.  
Nope, he goes to Gabriel, because he fucking _gets it_. And that's really all Dean can ask for.  
So when he's been hearing shit from some douche all day about how he's 'unnatural' and needs to quit 'pretending to be a guy', he texts Gabriel and asks him to meet him by his locker after the bell rings.  
It's halfway through his next class before he gets a reply, just a short '_Sure, Dean-o.'_ Gabriel doesn't ask what it's about, why he wants to see him. He doesn't need to; he understands that sometimes words hurt, and sometimes what you really need is to talk to someone who's been through the same thing, not just someone that will sympathize with you and tell you what you wanna hear.  
Dean shoots off quick texts to Cas and Sam, letting them know that he won't see them right after school, and slouches back into his seat to wait for class to be over.

When he sees Gabriel at his locker, leaning against it in his eccentric but oh-so-Gabriel clothes, Dean releases a breath that he hadn't known he was holding. He could already feel a weight beginning to slide off his shoulders.  
"Dean-o, you wanna head to Sonic and get a Blast? My treat..." Gabriel smiled winningly, but Dean could see underneath the mask to the worry buried deep down. He knew this was Gabe's way of taking care of him without turning it into a chick flick moment, and Dean was appreciative of that.  
"Sure, who's car we taking?"  
"I already told Cas that he could take mine and drop Sam off at home, that I'd catch a ride from somebody." They shared a knowing look between them; it wasn't exactly a secret, the times that Gabe and Dean spent together when one of them was hurting, but they didn't broadcast it, either. They knew that it hurt Sam and Cas that they couldn't be there for their boyfriends and brothers when they needed comforting, but Gabe and Dean had done their best to explain why they just needed to hang out sometimes. They left unsaid the fact that they also didn't want to burden their loved ones with problems having to do with their _differences._ They weren't self-conscious about themselves, but they also knew that Sam and Cas had both had their fair share of difficulties with people accepting Dean and Gabe.  
So when one of them needed comfort, they just texted the other, and they would head out somewhere for a few hours, to just drive and talk and cuddle (which Dean would absolutely _never_ admit to, even on pain of death).

When they pulled into Sonic, Dean didn't ask what Gabe wanted before leaning over to press the button and ordering two large Blasts, one Oreo and one M&M. He knew what Gabriel wanted, just like Gabriel would've known what Dean wanted had he been the one to order.  
Leaning back into the seat of the car, Dean sighed and closed his eyes, truly relaxing for the first time all day. It wasn't two minutes before he felt a warm, sure hand rubbing circles above his eyes. He groans at the touch, relaxing further. Damn, but Gabriel knew how to turn him to mush.  
"So, you wanna talk about today?" Gabriel's voice is soft, soothing Dean's frayed nerves further. He knows that it's a genuine question; they won't talk about it if he doesn't want to. It's one of the fucking awesome things about Gabriel.  
"Not right now, man. I'd really just like to forget about it and relax." Dean takes a breath. "Anyway, it was just some dick saying shit all day, nothing to worry about." Gabriel nods his acceptance.  
The rest of the wait for their frozen ice-creamy goodness is silent, but the both of them find ways to stay in constant physical contact. A hand running up and down Dean's leg, fingers tangled in Gabriel's hair. Anyone who saw them would think they were a couple, with the easy physicality between them.  
When some chick rolls up to the window on skates to deliver their Blasts, it was to find Dean stretched out with his head on Gabriel's lap, having meaningless symbols drawn all over his face with Gabe's fingers. She blushed a light pink and cleared her throat.

Dean payed her and took their ice-cream, then rolled the window up.  
"Yum, hand it over, Dean-Dean." Gabriel made a grabby motion towards his M&M Blast, but Dean smirked and held it out of reach before quickly sticking one of the straws in it and slurping some of it up.  
He gave an appreciative noise and grinned at Gabriel's look of horrified indignation. He handed it over with the air of someone who is way too proud of himself.  
"DEAN! I can't believe you would do something so childi-" Abruptly, Gabriel remembered who he was talking about. He just cut himself off and glared at Dean in mock anger while firmly taking the straw between his lips and sucking obnoxiously loudly.

For several minutes, they sat just enjoying their ice-cream. Sometimes it was like this between the two of them, quiet not because they had nothing to say, but because there was no need to say it aloud. They had known each other long enough that sometimes, words just weren't necessary.  
The peace lasted until Dean glanced over and noticed a small trickle of melted ice-cream on Gabriel's bottom lip. Without even thinking about it, he leaned over and licked it up, before Gabriel gently caught his lips with his own in a sloppy kiss.  
There was no sexual tension between them, it wasn't about sex at all. It was about comfort, and understanding, and physical contact with someone who had no expectations and no strings attached.  
Sometimes they kissed and touched, but that isn't to say that they cheated on their boyfriends. Sam and Cas both knew about it, and both were also quite secure in their respective relationships, enough so that they felt comfortable with their boyfriends comforting one another when they needed it.  
That's not to say, of course, that they had been all for it right from the get-go, but by this point in their relationships, they were just happy that Gabe and Dean could find comfort in non-self-destructive ways.  
And even when Dean and Gabriel kissed, they didn't think about it like they would if it were with their boyfriends. It's just about getting as close to a friend as they can, to share their understanding with one another, and nothing more. It _is_ about love, but that doesn't mean they're _in love_ with one another. For them, it's just... an alternate way of communicating the words that they were too insecure to voice. Is it another thing that makes them weird? Yes. But it works for them, it helps them cope, helps them unburden themselves, and that's all that matters.

It's almost dinnertime when Dean pulls into his driveway, just having taken Gabriel home. Gabriel had gotten out of the car with a quirk of his lips and a '_See you later, Dean-o'_ before bouncing up to his house. Dean had just chuckled and texted Cas, letting him know that '_the Tasmanian Devil is home, just to give you advance warning'_. Cas had sent him a very stern emoticon that had Dean laughing all the way home.


End file.
